The One
by TongueTwister
Summary: Leon meets a girl. Could she finally be The One?
1. Prologue

Prologue  
  
It was a pretty normal, boring night at the races when Vince nudged Leon and nodded towards a young woman with a very professional-looking camera in her hand. "Wanna check it out?" "Yeah dawg", Leon answered, chewing thoughtfully on his toothpick.  
  
As the two men approached the woman she was about to take a shot of the hood of a bright orange Honda Civic, that belonged to one of Hector's crew, when Vince stepped in front of it. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doin'?!" she yelled, pulling the camera away from her face. "I can't let you wander in here and take pictures of cars or people. What if you're a cop?" Vince asked, folding his arms across his chest. As he did this he gave the woman a quick once over, she wore pale blue Timberland boots; loose, black, leather trousers than hung low on her hips; a baby blue tank top, big silver hoop earrings and her chocolate brown hair fell down her back in glossy curls. "Cause I'm not. I'm a photographer. I woulda thought the camera gave that away. If you're still so damn worried about it why don't you and your little friend come check out my show next month?" she said, producing a flier from her back pocket and thrusting it at Vince. "How did you find us anyways?" asked Leon, he decided that he liked this girl and wanted to know where she had appeared from. "Hector", she answered, turning slightly to face Leon, her eyes flickered as she checked him out, "If you'll excuse me I'm gonna get another coupla shots before the race. If that's all right with you", she shot the last sentence at Vince before walking away from the two men. "Damn, women!" Vince huffed as he stuffed the flier into Leon's hand. Leon uncrumpled the piece of paper and read it thoughtfully. 'Emily Garcia. So that's her name', he thought with a smile.  
  
I know it's short but there's plenty more to come. Review and tell me what you think! 


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
  
Emily sighed deeply as she entered her empty house, which was the thing she hated most about living away from her family; there was never anyone to welcome her home after a long day. It was Monday evening, two days since the races and she was still thinking about that guy with the toothpick. Why couldn't she get him out of her head? 'Because he was so damn sexy!' answered her brain. Maybe she could accidentally, on purpose, bump into him at the next race.  
  
She was just about to pick up the phone to call Hector when it's shrill ring echoed through the house. Emily frowned slightly as she picked it up. "Hello?" "Hey, chica!" called Hector's friendly voice. "That's weird I was just about to call you," Emily laughed, nervously. "Freaky! I just called to say that I might have some work for you. My friend owns a garage and a customer was askin' where he could get hand- painted decals and he knew I had some so asked me if I could arrange a meeting with you and this guy at my friend's garage", Hector informed her. "Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks Hec. I need to start getting my name around the place", Emily smiled. "Good cause I told him you'd be at the garage at eleven thirty tomorrow morning. Is that okay?" "Yeah, I don't exactly have much going on just now. Besides I need more decal work for my show. You're still coming right?" "Course I am. I wanna see all these pictures of the races. I might even buy a couple" "Thanks Hector. I'm gonna need all the help I can get!" "Don't put yourself down girl. You got talent and at least you're puttin' it to some use. I gotta go but I'll see you soon okay?" "Sure, by the way where's this garage I have to meet this guy at?" "It's downtown. Toretto's. Just ask for Dominic and tell him that you're Hector's friend. See ya chica!"  
  
~~*@*~~  
  
Next Day  
  
Leon trudged into the garage and pulled on his overalls, ready to get to work on the SUV that needed a tune up. As he slid under the car he thought about her for what seemed like the millionth time in just three days. He couldn't get her face out of his head. He had been kicking himself about not talking to her before she disappeared at the races the other night. He knew he wasn't exactly on a drought in the females department recently but something about her made him want her more than anything. After being in the presence of this woman he couldn't settle for race skanks anymore. He wanted more. He wanted Emily Garcia.  
  
It was 11:00 and Emily stood in her walk-in closet staring blankly at the stacks of clothes in front of her. She had a passion for shopping. She couldn't help it. It was a girl thing, right? Finally, she decided on an old pair of dirty denim jeans, that had rips in the thigh and knee area, a black button-down shirt, the neck left open so that the white gold cross around her neck could be seen, and a pair of black Adidas Superstars. At 11:15 she was out the door and jumping into her Mercedes SLK. The car was her pride and joy, a 21st birthday present from her dad. The state of the art stereo system, currently blasting out Mary J Blige, had been from her brothers. The car was silver with a baby blue angel painted on the hood and feathers on the sides, all done by Emily, naturally.  
  
At 11:30 on the dot Leon heard a car roll up, stop outside the garage and a door open and close. As he was the only one in the garage forecourt (Dom was in the office) he rolled out from under the SUV. What he saw when he sat up was a pleasant surprise.  
  
As Emily parked outside Toretto's garage she glanced at the clock on her dashboard, '11:30' the blue lights told her. 'Right on time for a change!' she smiled to herself as she picked up the folder on the passenger seat and left the car. She crossed the road between her car and the garage and noticed that there was no one behind the service desk. 'Looks like I'm the only one on time' she thought as she looked around the apparently empty garage. As she turned to face an SUV in the corner she met the deep green eyes of the man that appeared from under it. "You!" they cried in unison. 


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Dom walked into the garage when he heard voices. "Oh, you must be Hector's friend? Emily is it?" asked Dom, oblivious of the situation he had just walked in on. "Yeah. Emily Garcia", she answered as she quickly composed herself and stuck her hand out towards Dom who shook it. "Um, the guy who was askin' about you is runnin' a little late", Dom smiled sheepishly, "And I gotta go to Harry's and pick up some stuff so if you just wanna hang around here for a coupla minutes, I'm sure Leon will look after you", Dom grinned at Leon. "Uh, sure if that's okay with Leon?" Emily asked shyly as she turned to the man she hadn't stopped thinking about for the past three days. "It's fine with me", he shrugged. As he did this Emily took the chance to look him over, he was wearing dark blue, grease-covered overalls that were tied loosely round his waist and a white tank top that clung to his chest. 'No toothpick today', she noticed.  
  
Leon could have killed Dom on the spot for leaving him alone with Emily. She didn't exactly look ecstatic at the thought of being abandoned with him. As Dom peeled out of the garage the pair looked everywhere but at each other. "So, the Merc out there yours?" Leon asked trying to break the uncomfortable silence. Emily let out the breath she realised she had been holding. "Yeah, you wanna come take a look?" "Sure", Leon answered, thankful to be talking about something where he knew it would be very hard for him to say something stupid.  
  
Emily walked back out towards her car, closely followed by Leon. "Here's my baby", Emily shrugged toward her gleaming car. "No shit. Did you do these yourself?" Leon asked, not bothering to hide that he was impressed. "Yeah, the angel on the hood is the tattoo on my back", she informed him as she turned around and lifted her shirt slightly revealing an angel, with it's head bowed and hands clasped in prayer with rosary beads wrapped around them, at the base of her back. The feathery wings spread from the angel's back to almost at Emily's hips, all in black ink. "Damn, how long did that take?" Leon asked, he knew from experience how painful tattoos could be and this one looked like a sore one. "A little over five hours. I couldn't lie on my back or bend down properly for weeks!" Emily laughed. Leon laughed with her and it felt good. There was suddenly no tension between them. "Look I wanna apologise for my friend at the races the other night. He's kinda paranoid about cops and shit", Leon said when he sobered up. "It's okay. I kinda over-reacted too. I don't usually have such a short fuse but I kinda get in my own zone when I'm working and when someone interrupts me I guess I kinda lose it", Emily smiled sheepishly. "I was wonderin' if that invite to your show is still open? I wouldn't mind havin' a look at some of your work" "Sure. In fact I've got some sketches and pictures of other cars I've painted in here", Emily smiled as she opened the folder in her hand.  
  
Almost half an hour later and a car could he heard roaring up the quiet street. "Looks like Dom's back", Leon smirked. "Sounds like don't you mean?!" Emily laughed. "That's a little more accurate I guess!" "God, I hope this guy's gonna turn up soon", Emily pouted as she leaned against the hood of her car. "Hey, I'm sure he will. If he knew what amazing designs he could get on his car I'm sure he'd be here in two seconds flat. I know I would", Leon said truthfully as he stood beside Emily. "Thanks that means a lot from a racer", Emily smiled at Leon and their eyes locked.  
  
"This guy still not showed up?" asked Dom as he approached the pair, again oblivious to the moment he was disturbing. "Nope", replied Emily. "I'll go and give him a call see where he's at", Dom said before turning back into the garage. "So is it just you and Dom at the garage?" Emily asked. "Nah, Vince, the guy from the races, Letty, Dom's girlfriend and Jesse, my best friend from back home, work here too. They'll be along later", Leon told her. "Oh. So where's back home?" Emily asked. This guy intrigued her and she felt that she could be herself around him and not have to worry about if he thought she was an idiot or not.  
  
Leon smiled and told her all about San Francisco, his mom and how his dad had ran out on them when he was two and his mother had still managed to provide for him all his life, though it was hard most of the time. "Damn, you've been through a lot, huh?" Emily asked with raised eyebrows. "My life's been one big long sob story until I showed up here", Leon shrugged, "So what about you? Where's home at?" "Well, I lived in a little town 'bout three hours outside LA with my mom, dad and three big brothers. I moved to the city four years ago, when I was eighteen. But I moved back home when I was nineteen cause my mom died and I guess the family kinda fell apart. My dad owns a big garage back home and I helped out there, cleaned the house, made sure him and my brothers ate everyday. My dad's never been the same since my mom passed away. My oldest brother, Ryan, moved away to Vegas with his wife two months later, he said he couldn't cope with dad being the way he was. My second oldest brother, Jamie, was incredibly strong he arranged the funeral and kept the garage going, I don't know what we would've done without him. Then there's my other brother, Billy, he just totally went into himself, wouldn't talk to anyone for weeks. Then six months ago I moved back here and started gettin' some work. Then my friend told me about this gallery space that had become available so I immediately told them I could fill it, so I've got this damn show next month that I need to prepare for", Emily told him. "What was wrong with your mom?" Leon asked, the more he talked to Emily the more he liked her. "She had cancer. By the time the doctors found it there was nothing they could do to stop it spreading", Emily explained. "That must of been ha-", Leon was interrupted by three cars pulling up.  
  
Emily glanced at the three supped up cars that parked outside the garage. "Yo Leon who's the girl?" Vince asked from behind Emily. She slowly turned round, "The bitch photographer", Vince growled. "Oh, so I have a title now?" Emily asked, hand on her hip, all attitude. Leon smirked behind his hand. 'You gotta love this girl!... Did I just say love?!' "What? You got a problem with it?" Vince asked walking over to her. "How about you just call me Emily, seein' as how it's my name an' all", Emily said, tilting her head to the side. "Uh, someone gonna introduce us?" Letty asked as she raised her eyebrows from behind her sunglasses. "Letty, Jesse this is Emily Garcia. Emily this is Letty and Jesse", Leon said, pointing to the right person at the right time. "Dom's girlfriend right?" Emily asked as she shook Letty's hand, "And Leon's best friend?" she asked as she shook Jesse's hand. "So what're you doin' here?" Vince asked. "I'm waitin' for some guy to show up so I can spray his car", Emily informed him a little icily. "This yours?" Letty asked, pointing to the Mercedes. "Yeah" "Can I take a look under the hood?" Jesse asked, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of a car engine. "Sure", Emily laughed as she opened the door and pulled the lever to open the hood.  
  
Fifteen minutes later and Dom came out of the garage and joined the group. "Hey Emily, I called the guy who wanted to meet you and it turns out that he can't make it today. Can you come meet him tomorrow?" Dom asked as he put his arm around Letty's shoulders. "Well that was a waste of a mornin'. What time tomorrow?" Emily asked with a sigh. "9:30?" Dom asked. "Sure. I'll see you guys tomorrow", Emily said as she moved towards the hood to shut it. "You could stick around here. If you've not got anywhere else to go", Leon suggested, quickly. "Yeah, I wanna check out the rest of this machine!" Jesse smiled. "Um, sure if I'm not gonna get in the way?" Emily asked and smiled at Leon, she was beginning to think that he liked her back. "You have to stay girl. I need someone to help me handle V over here!" Letty smiled. "Whatever", Vince grunted, then turned and walked into the garage.  
  
At 1:30 Mia showed up with sandwiches for the team and she was introduced to Emily whom she immediately liked when Letty told her how she had stood up to Vince earlier. "I'd better go guys, I have to meet some people about this gallery show" Emily sighed when she looked at her watch. "See ya!" called the team as she made to leave. "I'll walk you to your car", Leon told her as he slid off the workbench he had been sitting on.  
  
"So uh, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Leon asked rubbing the back of his neck when they reached Emily's car. "Sure. Oh, here", she said slipping her card into Leon's hand, "My cell number's on the back. Call me sometime", she said unlocking her car and slipping into the driver's seat. "Definitely. See ya later", Leon smiled as he shut Emily's door for her and waved her off.  
  
Leon returned to the garage with a huge grin on his face. "Leon and Emily sitting in a tree", Jesse sang. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G", Mia finished with a smile. "Shut up", Leon said as he walked past them to the SUV he was working on but the grin was still plastered on his face. 


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
Emily stepped out of her hot shower to hear her cell phone ringing, she quickly wrapped a towel around herself and flipped open the phone. "Hello?" she asked. "Hey, Emily? It's Leon" "Oh, hey Leon" "Hi. Err I was wondering if you wanted to go out tonight? Just for a drink or something. If you want?" he asked. "Yeah, sure. I just came out the shower so what time do you wanna meet up at?" she asked. "Um, I'll pick you up in about a half hour? Is that okay?" he asked. "Sure. My address is on my card. I'll see you later", she smiled into the phone. "Sure. Bye", Leon smiled at the image of Emily in just a towel as he hung up his phone before jumping in the shower himself.  
  
Emily walked into her closet and looked for something to wear for her date with Leon. After drying her hair straight she decided on a pair of khaki linen trousers; a white short-sleeved tee; khaki coloured flip-flops and a studded canvas belt hung, loosely, on her hips. Just as she had finished applying what little make-up she wore her doorbell rang. Emily gave herself a final once over before descending the wooden stairs and opening her front door to find a very sexy Leon greeting her with a smile and a bunch of red roses. "Wow, hi Leon!" Emily grinned. "Hi, you look good", Leon smiled back at her. "You're looking quite good yourself, come on in" "Thanks", he smiled as he walked into the hall area. "Have a seat and make yourself at home. I'll be ready to go in just a second", Emily showed Leon into the living room of her house before returning up the stairs.  
  
Leon glanced around the pale blue room Emily had shown him into as he sat on the chocolate brown leather couch. He stood up and picked up a family photo in a simple silver frame that showed a younger Emily and what Leon presumed were her brothers, mother and father. "That was taken the day I left when I was eighteen", Emily informed him from the doorway. "This your family?" Leon asked as he turned to face her and watched her walk towards him. "Yep, before we even knew my mom was ill", Emily smiled sadly at the memory of that day. "She looked like a cool lady", Leon said, trying to lighted the mood. "She was", Emily smiled at him, "So I thought you invited me out for a drink?" "Let's go then", Leon said, putting his arm out for Emily. "Thank you", Emily laughed. "What? I'm a true gentleman!" he laughed with her as she locked the door and they made their way to Leon's Skyline.  
  
Later that night  
  
A few hours later and the couple returned to Emily's house. Leon jogged round to the passenger side and opened the door for Emily. Their date had been quiet but enjoyable with Leon filling Emily in on the team and Emily sharing stories of her family. "Thank you", Emily smiled as she exited the car. Leon walked Emily to the door. "Well... I guess this is goodnight", Emily smiled sweetly when she had unlocked her door. "I'll see you at the garage tomorrow then" "Yeah, I had fun tonight" "Me too. We should do it again sometime" "I'd like that," Emily smiled again. Leon leaned forward and gave Emily a peck on the lips. "Goodnight", he smiled as he left her front porch. "'Night", Emily smiled again and didn't stop till she fell asleep half an hour later. 


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
The next morning Leon couldn't wait to get to the garage and see Emily again. He was the first person up in the house up that morning, he was even awake before Mia, which was no mean feat. He was sitting at the kitchen table dressed in his usual baggy jeans and basketball jersey with a cup of coffee when Mia entered the kitchen. "Wow. Why are you up so early?" Mia asked in shock. Leon shrugged. "Oh, I remember now. Emily's gonna be at the garage today", she said with a smile. "It's not cause of that, I just have a lot of work to do today", he mumbled, embarrassed that he was so transparent. "It's okay to want to see her Leon. I take it last night went well then?" "Yeah, we just talked about stuff. You know? Family stuff, car stuff, everything and I didn't feel like I had to hold back. You know?". Mia grinned at her friend. "You're in love Leon", she smiled sweetly. "Nah, Mia. You're trippin'. I've only known her for what? A week?" Leon shrugged. "You fell in love at first sight. That's so sweet Leon. Don't worry I won't tell the guys if you're embarrassed. But just for the record, if you really like Emily I think you guys should give it a go. I think you could have a good thing goin' on", Mia smiled. "Thanks Mia", Leon smiled as he got up from the table and kissed her on the forehead before heading back up to his room.  
  
It was an hour later when Emily surfaced from her cosy bed and headed for the shower. She had butterflies in her stomach at the thought of seeing Leon today. 'Girl, you gotta stop thinkin' bout him. You've only known him for a week and spoken properly twice', she scolded herself as she walked into her closet. She dressed in a pair of baggy khaki coloured cargo pants, a tight black wife-beater and a pair of black Timberland boots. She tied her long, curly hair back in a loose ponytail. She then descended the stairs and made herself breakfast before heading out to the garage.  
  
At 9:00 Emily pulled up at the garage and smiled to herself when she saw Leon's Skyline parked outside. She took her time gathering her folder of work and cell phone then locking her car and sliding the key into her pant pocket to kill time, she didn't want to seem totally desperate to see him.  
  
She looked around the garage when she entered and saw Letty working on a Civic near the front of the garage. "Hey Letty", Emily smiled. "Hey girl. How you doin'?" she asked her new friend. "I'm good. How bout you?" Emily asked. Just as Letty started to answer her Leon came out of the office and onto the garage forecourt. Emily was in her own world as she watched him open the hood of a nearby car and bend down to look at the engine. She was only brought back down to earth when Letty snapped her fingers in front of her face. "Wha-at?!" Emily frowned. "I said, welcome back to the land of the living!" Letty laughed, "Damn girl, you got it bad!" she chuckled. "Don't Letty. It's not funny", Emily pouted, "I can't stop thinkin' about him. It's so weird. I mean I've never felt like this before" "Ah, young love", Letty breathed with a smile. "Don't even go there Letty. It's not funny. Anyway it can't be. I mean we've only known each other for what? A week?" Emily frowned. "So? Don't you believe in love at first sight? That's how Dom and I got together", Letty reasoned. "I thought that you just bugged him for sixteen years until he took notice of you?!" Emily laughed. "Hey!" Letty playfully slapped Emily on the arm, "That's just how Mia tells the story!" The two girls laughed loudly until they attracted the attention of Dom, Leon and Jesse, who were working in the garage.  
  
Leon looked up when he heard Emily and Letty laughing hysterically at the front of the garage and looked to Dom for some sort of indication as to what they were laughing at. "What're you two findin' so funny?" Dom asked as he approached the giggling pair. Letty clamped her hand over Emily's mouth. "Nothin' for you to worry about!" Letty reassured him with a sweet smile, "Eeeeww! Emily!" Letty yelled as she pulled her hand away from Emily's face. "Well don't put your hand over my mouth!" laughed the other girl. The three men just looked at each other and shrugged. Just then a car pulled up and Emily glanced at her watch, 9:30. "Ooo, looks like my mystery customer's decided to show up today", Emily commented as she smoothed her wife-beater over her flat stomach.  
  
The five people in the garage looked over to the car that had pulled up and looked at the young man that got out of it. "Hey, I'm meant to be meetin' some guy about sprayin' my car?" he asked when he entered the garage. The guy was young, possibly still in high school, tall, with sandy blonde hair and a muscular build but was nothing compared to Dom. "That would be me", Emily stepped forward. "Oh..." the potential customer looked her up and down. "If that's gonna be a problem then I suggest you take your business elsewhere" "No. Its an unexpected surprise that's all", the guy recovered, quickly. 'If looks could kill Leon would be liable for a life sentence', thought Dom. "Is that your car?" Emily asked and pointed outside to the car he had arrived in. "Yeah" "Can I take a look and you can tell me if you've got any ideas for colours or images. Okay?" she asked. "Sure", he led her over to his car. The rest of the team that were present returned to their work. "Stay cool dog, she ain't yours to get all possessive of yet", Dom warned Leon as he walked past him on his way back to the office. "I'm just lookin' out for her is all", he explained, never taking his eyes off Emily and the young man.  
  
Emily returned to the garage after about an hour of talking to the young man, Luke. "Hey", Leon smiled at her as she walked towards the car he was working on. "Hey", she smiled as she leant against the hood of the car. "So, you gonna spray that guy's car?" he asked. "Yep. Well, I'm gonna draw up a few ideas then he'll have to decide on which one he wants then I'll start sprayin'", she explained. "That's good. Umm, I was wondering if you were planning on going to the races tonight?" Leon asked. "Yeah, I was gonna take some more pictures", Emily told him. "Oh, I was gonna ask you if you wanted to come with me but if you're gonna be workin' then I don't wanna interrupt you", he said, looking down. Emily walked in front of him and lifted his chin gently. "I'd love to go with you. I can take photos any night. I'd rather spent tonight with you", she leaned forwards and kissed his lips softly, "Pick me up at ten", she smiled wickedly before walking away. Leon stood, dumbfounded, and watched the beautiful girl that had just kissed him walk away. 'Damn boy, she's got you good'. 


End file.
